Donald Cerrone Shows He's Still An Elite Lightweight With Devastating Performance At UFC on FOX 10

By Rick LaFitte

David Banks USA TODAY Sports

While it wasn’t too long ago that Donald Cerrone was considering a move down to the featherweight division, “Cowboy” is definitely riding high these days in the 155-pound weight class. Cerrone followed up an impressive performance against Evan Dunham at UFC 167 with another devastating effort at UFC on FOX 10 in Chicago. Cerrone earned yet another Fight Night bonus for Knockout of the Night with a first-round KO of Brazilian Adriano Martins.

The 31-year old Martins was getting a huge step up in competition against the no. 8-ranked Cerrone after making a successful Octagon debut against Daron Cruickshank at Fight Night 32 in Brazil. He actually started well against Cerrone, landing a body kick and a solid right hand early, but Cerrone began to turn the tide by getting into rhythm with his diversified leg kick attack and punches.

The end came at the 4:40 mark as a perfectly placed head kick knocked Martins out cold. The loss snapped his six-fight win streak and was just the second time in his career that Martins had been knocked out.

Cerrone picked up his 22nd career victory and improved to 9-3 in his UFC career. He’s clearly been able to reestablish himself as a major player in the 155-pound weight class. His tendency to be involved in entertaining fights and a willingness to face anyone will certainly lead to another high-profile opportunity moving forward. He can shelve the notion of dropping down to 145-pounds for the time being given his impressive back-to-back performances.

As for Martins, it was a rude awakening to what life can be like when facing one of the most-dangerous lightweights that the UFC can offer.